A Love Like Fire
by imsuchanut
Summary: He takes another sip of his wine and stares at anything but her. It's hard not to, though, because the candlelight is bouncing off of her hair and making him feel like he's the one on fire.


He's perfectly content just watching her from the side of the room, but apparently his mother is not.

"Go on, dance with her." He takes another sip of his wine and stares at anything but her. It's hard not to, though, because the candlelight is bouncing off of her hair and making him feel like _he's_ the one on fire. Her dress, the one he knows she hates so much, isn't touching the ground as she spins around to the beat with the other young elleth. There's a breathtaking smile on her face and—_damn._ She wasn't supposed to catch him staring.

His mother nudges him again, and he stares back down into his cup. The liquid is a bright red, only serving to remind him of the one he's trying to ignore. "Legolas. You haven't acknowledged her all night. What on _earth's_ the matter with you?" But she says it in a tone that implies she already knows.

He doesn't know how to reply. She's his _mother_. He can't tell her about who he _fancies_. And certainly not that he fancies member of the guard. She'd tell his father, and then he'd get all stuffy about dating women of his "caliber". The night was already awful enough.

He's pretty sure his mother already knows about his…crush, for lack of a better word. The woman knows everything—from the first time he snuck wine to the time when he and Tauriel went hunting in the woods at night. She's too perceptive, and right now she's making him uncomfortable. She can't know, right?

The twinkle in her eye says otherwise. "Fine then. Stay here, and watch her have fun—without you." She's got his attention now, and he gaze darts back to the elf in question, currently having fun with a couple other members of the guard. He was friends with them, yes, but _he_ was _her_ best friend. She shouldn't be having this much fun without him.

Then his mother takes the goblet out of his hand and pushes him towards her. "Go. Now. Or I tell your father about what really happened to those drapes." He shudders at the thought, and resolves to go and talk to Tauriel. In all honesty though, he really didn't want to. He wasn't a good dancer, and she was more than graceful in everything she did. And as the prince, everyone would be staring at him, and he'd blush and say something stupid and damn, he could feel the blood rushing in his cheeks already. And she was _still_ ten metres away. But he watches as another elf asks for a dance, and his jealousy overpowers his fear. _Slightly._

He slowly pushes through the crowd of people and stands a few feet away from her, waiting for the song to be over. He doesn't want to cut in now, to make things worse for himself. But she catches his gaze, and the smile that lights up her face is reflected on his own.

She approaches him at the end of the song, slightly breathless. She smiles up at him, her ears poking out from under the braids that have already started to unravel. She's beautiful, as usual, and he's again left wonderstruck. "My Prince." Her curtsy is brief, and it's painfully obvious that it's only for show. They don't do formalities between them, haven't done so for decades. They're too close for that.

So close that, he's afraid she's going to see right through him, see the feelings that he's kept hidden for years. He's still young, he's not good at concealing emotions like his father. Tauriel and he hunt together, play together, cause mayhem together, but they've never actually had to dance together before. They've never been that close, and he thinks his cheeks are about to explode.

"May I—may I have this dance?" She giggles and blushes too, and he takes it as a good sign. Less than a second later, she's whisked him back to the center and pulling him around, and it takes him a moment to remember that he has feet. His arm is around her waist and their hands are clasped, and it feels so good and so bad at the same time.

She's beaming, really, and he feels a semblance of pride knowing that she hadn't looked just like this whilst dancing with the other elleth. Perhaps there was hope for him after all. The gaze on his back told him otherwise, and as he turned them he caught a glimpse of his glaring father. Tauriel was a favorite of his father's yes, but she was strictly off limits for courting. Not that they were really old enough to be courting anyways. That was still a decade off.

His worries were taken away though, at the sight of his mother elbowing his father sharply in the side. He could feel the glare dissipate after that.

He decides she's like fire. She makes him burn, sets his cheeks in flames. She's dangerous, and can take down anything in her path. The colour even flows through her hair. But she keeps him warm, a steady source of comfort that he cannot live without. It's a dangerous balance.

Eventually the crowd thinned, the lights dimmed, and the music slowed. He danced with Tauriel in the middle of the floor, slowly and with their arms clasped tightly around each other. Legolas buried his face in her hair and made a silent promise then, never to let her go.

The time came though, for the party to end. The musicians left, most of the guests were gone, and his parents were picking up items left on the floor. Tauriel looked up at him with a smile, and tucked one of the many loose ends behind her ears. "I'll see you tomorrow then? For archery practice?" He nods, and watches her as she leaves the hall, half running, half walking. He finds it endearing, but he seemed to feel that way about most of her traits.

His mother joins him a moment later.

"See? Was that really so bad?"

"Don't tell father but…I fancy Tauriel." He looks up to see her laughing and shaking her head.

"My sweet, darling boy. You act like it's a secret."

He's left blushes and looking highly indignant in the center of the hall, as his parents walk away, chuckling. He resolves to ask the staff about their first dance in the morning.


End file.
